Love and Strife
by Andromeda79
Summary: Casalameer King is in love with Sirius Black but he doesn't even know she's alive. After he is arrested, she never forgets him until something washes up onshore at her cottage.
1. The exam and the lake

Casalameer King is in love with Sirius Black but he doesn't know she's alive. She grows up and little happenings you may or may not recognize ensue. I don't own any of the Harry Potter characters and I am not J.K. Rowling.

Chapter One

She looked at the boy sitting in front of her in the exam, transfixed. He never looked her way. Ever. Casalameer King wasn't exactly attractive, but she wasn't UNattractive, either. She had long black hair, almost the same colour as Sirius', light grey eyes and a slim build. She'd be very attractive if she put a little more effort into it but she was more interested in studying and well...studying Sirius. It wasn't that she was trying to go unnoticed but she just didn't feel that anyone would look her way anyhow. She was feminine, but just too shy. She was the girl everyone scanned once and never thought about again. She had the look of a girl who blended in crowds and made no effort whatsoever to be noticed. She was conscious of this, though there was one boy she wanted to be noticed by. Sirius Black. He was in the same year as she, in the same house, (Gryffindor) and was in all of her classes. He tilted his chair on two legs and casually leaned back. She sat up hopefully and wished that he would turn around. Casalameer looked around the room and noticed James doodling on his question sheet. Peter was looking nervous as usual and Remus was engrossed in his exam. Exam! "I'd better get going on this or else I'm going to flunk out!" Cas worried.  
"Give five signs that identify the werewolf"…

After the exam, Cas watched Sirius, James, Peter and Remus walk out towards the lake. Someone behind her tapped her on the shoulder. It was Lily Evans. "Are you coming outside? Daphne and I are going to go hang out by the lake." This was the perfect chance to watch Sirius some more. "Sure, I'll come." Cas replied. They made their way outside and the hot sun made her shade her eyes. Fifty yards away she could see the four boys sitting beneath a tree, James playing with what could only be a snitch. "Honestly," Lily muttered, "He's such a show off. If anyone else had stolen a snitch Madam Hootch would have kittens over it. But does he get in trouble? NooOoo!" Daphne, who was walking on the other side of Lily giggled. After a few minutes they arrived at the lake and proceeded to take their sandals off and slowly walk through the cool water. Cas turned her head to see if Sirius was watching them but he was looking elsewhere. He was watching some Slytherin boy named Severus Snape who always seemed to be at odds with the Gryffindor Four. "Oh God, there they go again," Lily muttered. "Why do they always have to pick on him?" Cas watched James and Sirius as they proceeded to taunt Severus until finally they flipped him upside down so that his underwear was showing. "Okay, that is ENOUGH!" Lily bellowed. She marched over to the five boys and started yelling. Cas and Daphne looked at one another. "I'm not going over there!" Daphne said. "Neither am I," replied Cas. "Once that temper of hers goes off, you don't want to get in the way." They watched from afar as Lily stormed off towards the castle after ripping into James. "Well THAT was pretty tame of her," Daphne chortled. "Let's go back to the common room and wait for her. Maybe she'll have calmed down by then." And so they did.

After a long night listening to Lily's incessant babble over how James Potter was going to end up living in the streets and how he put good students to shame, the three girls decided to go up to their dormitories for some much needed sleep. Cas had just gotten into bed when Lily turned towards her and whispered, "I mean, he wouldn't be so bad if he wasn't such a show off! Why does he have to act like he's so great?" "I dunno, Lily," Cas muttered sleepily. "If you don't like him that much then why do we keep talking about him?" Lily glared at Casalameer and turned onto her other side, her back to her friends. Cas giggled quietly knowing that Lily Evans DID in fact like James Potter, just as SHE liked Sirius Black. 


	2. The wedding

I don't own any of the Harry Potter stories and I am not J.K. Rowling. 

Chapter two

Years later after Casalameer, Daphne, Lily, Remus, Peter, James and Sirius all graduated from Hogwarts, it was time for celebration. Lily and James were finally getting married. It was a dark time in the magical world. Voldemort's powers were at an all time high. Muggles were being killed by the hundreds, good wizarding families were being tortured and killed and the Death Eaters were watching all of them, biding their time until the right moment to strike. Perhaps these reasons contributed to the fact that James and Lily wanted this day to be a happy one. A time to forget, yet a time to remember that the world still had some joy left and that the future wasn't necessarily doomed for darkness. They had all grown in the past few, yet short years. Peter was working for his father in Diagon Alley, James was working alongside Lily in the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry for Magic, Remus was working towards the welfare of werewolves (Wolfare), Daphne was a beater for the Chudley Cannons, Sirius was travelling around Europe (but of course, came back to Britain for the wedding) and Casalameer was finally working towards becoming an Auror, fulfilling her childhood dream. Altogether with several others, they were members of the Order of the Phoenix, brought forth by Albus Dumbledore, professor at Hogwarts and a dear friend. It was a beautiful day and many friends were gathered outside awaiting the wedding.  
Cas and Daphne were in Lily's room helping her with her dress. "I can't believe one of us is getting married!" Daphne squealed with excitement. "I always knew you'd be the first, Lily!" Lily smiled warmly, "I bet you didn't think I'd be marrying James, though." Daphne and Cas looked at one another in disbelief. "Are you joking?" Cas laughed, "Even when you were yelling at him we could hear the love!" They all laughed at this remark because they knew it was both absurd and yet true. Lily straightened out her skirt. "Have either of you laid eyes on Sirius yet? He looks fantastic!" Casalameer looked away, not wanting the girls to see her blush. She hadn't seen Sirius since graduation and she was sure it wouldn't ever matter to Sirius anyway. He still never noticed her even when they hung out with Lily and James.  
"I know!" Daphne said, "He looks so much happier now that he's on his own, away from that terrible mother. God, remember when we walked by his house and she was spitting on muggles? She was horrid!" "Alright, you two. How do I look?" Lily turned around once, showing all sides of her beautiful white wedding gown. Daphne and Cas smiled wistfully and let out sighs and squeals and tears of joy. "You look stunning, Lily." Cas whispered. "This is your day."

Lily and James looked into one another's eyes. Casalameer couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy. When was she ever going to find that kind of love? As maid of honour, she stood close by behind Lily, looking over the couple as they exchanged their vows. She looked past James and watched Sirius smiling. He looked over to her and smiled still. She looked away, his smile contagious. After Lily and James kissed and everyone cheered, it was time for the party to begin. Fairies decorated the yard and Celestina Warbeck was singing her newest hit, "Spelling Love". James and Lily were enjoying the first dance and people were beginning to join in. Cas felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around and found herself face to face with Sirius. "I think there's some tradition book out there that says the best man and the maid of honour have to dance." He grinned at her. Cas looked over at everyone else on the dance floor nervously and finally nodded in consent. Sirius took her by the arm and led her in the middle next to Lily and James and put his hand on her waist and took her right hand in his. Cas looked everywhere but at Sirius. She couldn't believe that she was this close to him and that this time he was paying attention to her. "There's something different about you." he said. "Not just… I don't mean you didn't look good before but…I hardly recognized you today." Cas was still looking past his shoulder at a fairy hiccoughing next to a barrel of wine. "So you're gonna be an Auror, huh? That's really cool. I wanted to try for it but sometimes I think my temper would be too much." Cas was still looking everywhere but at the man in front of her.  
"Yeah, it's pretty scary sometimes but I'm getting the hang of it and I just have to work on stealth and I'll be well on my way." She finally looked up at him and he was smiling slightly.  
"I guess Lily told you I've been travelling around a bit. I think I might just come back instead of going out there again. I missed home a lot and my friends. Now that I'm away from Mum, I can live wherever I want…" Now that Cas was looking at Sirius, she couldn't seem to look away. "I'd heard you were travelling. Where did you go?" "Oh…I went to Transylvania and met a few of my uncle's friends…weird lot though…only came out at night. And then I met a chap in a pub and it turned out he was the secret keeper for Atlantis so I got to visit there…lots of magic going on there. No doubt at all why they don't want muggles to find it. And I got to see a few old friends in America and we visited with some old witch named Wendelin…she was weird. Kept talking about fire…but I got tired of travelling by the time I got around to New Zealand. I daresay my owl was relieved we were going back home. Shorter travels for him. I did manage to get a few witches and wizards interested in our cause against Voldemort. Had to be really careful of what I said as Dumbledore wanted me to make sure they were trustworthy. Thank God I really listened in my occlumency lessons."

Casalameer hadn't heard a word of this. She remembered that he had just complimented her a few minutes before and was relishing the moment. She was quickly snapped back to reality when the song ended and everyone was heading to their tables. Dumbledore was to give a speech to the newly married couple and not a single soul there wanted to miss it. All the voices died down and a thin tall figure stepped his way up to a podium he had conjured moments before. Albus Dumbledore looked around at each table and smiled kindly. "What a day it has been. I think it was a matter of time before these two got married. From the day I had to separate them in the hallway for duelling over who had the better marks I knew that these two were meant to be." There was a giggle emanating from every table. "James Potter was never one to give up. And look at him now. He has achieved his greatest desire…to get Lily to finally notice him! And this time it wasn't from the Quidditch games or the numerous spells he knew…it was from loving each other and the promise to live their lives side by side. Lily Evans…now Lily Potter…was one of the brightest students Hogwarts has seen in a long time. Her knowledge of spells and particularly of one bat bogey hex which I don't think any of us will EVER forget…has shown us all that she is capable and willing to grow as a fine witch. Together, they remind us that there is still good in this world and that not even the powers of Lord Voldemort" (everyone cringed at the name) "-can stop the magic of love. James, Lily, I raise my glass to you and invite everyone to take a moment everyday to think about all the good things that happen and how if we all stand together we can fight the evils that threaten our families and friends." Dumbledore raised his glass to the couple and the whole party followed suit. A cheer erupted from the head table while Lily and James shared a sweet, if not slightly embarrassed kiss.


	3. The meeting

I don't own the Harry Potter characters and I am not J.K. Rowling. How fantastic that would be though! 

Chapter three

More years were to follow. Casalameer was now a fully fledged Auror, Peter was seen less and less due to his father's business, Remus was spending much of his time researching his condition meanwhile looking for a job, Sirius was living on his own in London, Daphne was still playing for the Cannons, and Lily had given birth to a beautiful little boy who James insisted on naming Harry. It had all come together but the days were darker than ever before. Rumours were milling about that the Potters were marked by Lord Voldemort. They had fought alongside Sirius, Casalameer and Dumbledore three times against Voldemort himself and his Death Eaters, mainly in protection of various muggles, but the last time was in retaliation to the torture of their dear friends, Frank and Alice Longbottom. They too, were rumoured to have been targets and their young son, Neville was taken away to live with his grandmother while his parents were permanently placed in St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies. Voldemort's favourite victims seemed to be the parents of baby boys. Casalameer was ready to die against Voldemort if it meant protecting one person. She had given up hope on ever finding anyone to share her life with. Her life felt meaningless and the only way to ease her pain was to fight. And this was a cause she believed in with immense conviction. Now was a time for the most important meeting of all. Lily and James were in trouble and they needed help. Cas made her way to the Hog's Head in Hogsmeade…the meeting spot for the Order of the Phoenix these days. Aberforth, the barkeep was hanging around the door when she walked in and pointed to a set of stairs at the back of the room. She climbed the stairs quietly and entered the only room above. Seemingly awaiting her arrival were the Potters, Dumbledore, Lupin, Pettigrew, Black and Professor Flitwick from Hogwarts. Casalameer sat next to Lily and waited for Dumbledore to say something.

"Thank you all for coming on such short notice. As you know, Voldemort is planning an attack very soon. I have reason to believe that his targets this time will be Lily and James." The Potters looked very tense. James looked like he hadn't slept in a month. Lily was holding young Harry close to her, looking very worried indeed. Dumbledore continued, "I have thought of many things that could help us come to their aid and the only way I see their survival possible is if they go into hiding." Cas looked at Lily, shocked. Would she ever see them again? How could they hide from someone like Voldemort? Surely he'd find them? "Professor Flitwick has agreed to explain how we can arrange such a difficult task." Dumbledore nodded at the tiny little wizard sitting beside him. Professor Flitwick cleared his throat with a squeak and looked directly at James.  
"There is a way that you can hide and still stay in Britain. If we were to put a charm over you, You Know Who could pass by anytime and never find you. We only need one person to help us with it…" Sirius Black spoke up. "I'll do it." Flitwick continued, ignoring Sirius. "We would put a charm over that person. Only he or she will know exactly where the Potters are. This is called the Fidelius charm and that person will be the Secret Keeper. As long as their whereabouts remains a secret inside this Keeper, You Know Who will never find out. But if he or she chooses to reveal their whereabouts, You Know Who will come right for the Potter family." The room was silent. Flitwick continued "As you can guess, this takes an immense amount of trust. There are a lot of spies on both sides and it is up to James and Lily to decide who they can trust. But I must say that if they were to choose someone obvious, You Know Who could go after them and attempt to use force in revealing his or her secret. Everyone involved is taking a huge risk." All present looked at one another. Casalameer was the first to speak up.

"What about Daphne? She's in Indi-" "Daphne's a spy, Casalameer. She's been passing information to various Death Eaters for some time now." Dumbledore said quietly, his head low. This was news to Casalameer and apparently to Lily as well for they looked at one another in alarm. "Anyway, we're not deciding now. No one except the Potters can choose and no one else must know who the Secret Keeper is. But you may all offer or decline to them in private. None of us can know in the end. I can't stress enough how important this is. We will speak with them one at a time. Let us all leave now except for…Casalameer. You may go first." Everyone except Cas, Lily holding Harry, and James stood up and left the room. Cas looked at Lily and James. James was looking down, saddened by the state of things. Lily passed Harry over to James.  
"Um…If you want to pick me, I'd be glad to help." Casalameer said.  
"No. You're my best friend and I couldn't stand to have Voldemort come after you." Lily said. "I've already discussed this with James." "But I'm an Auror. I've fought the Death Eaters before! I'm not afraid of anything." Lily smiled sadly, "I know. We're not thinking of OUR safety, but for Harry's. I can't tell you why. All I can say is that you will not be our Secret Keeper and that's my final word. When you go out there, don't give any indication of whether we said yes or no." Casalameer couldn't believe her friend's words. "Do you really think I'd sell you out for You Know Who?" "Of course not," James spoke up for the first time. "Don't you understand? We trust you more than almost anybody but you'd be the first person they'd think of. We can't make it obvious. Everyone knows how close you are to us. You're Harry's godmother." Cas looked at Harry. He closed his eyes sleepily.  
"Is there nothing I can say to change your minds?" Cas asked angrily.  
Lily's eyes welled up with tears. "No, Cas. Please understand that I love you so much and have always trusted you. Please trust me on this." There was a long pause. Cas looked at the Potters and made a choice that really wasn't hers, anyway. "All right," she said, "But I'm taking your answer only for Harry. Otherwise I'd be with you there to the end." "However soon or late that may be," Lily murmured.


	4. A letter from an old friend

I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters and I am not J.K. Rowling 

Chapter four

Lily and James were dead. It had happened. Whoever they chose as their Secret Keeper betrayed them by revealing their whereabouts. Casalameer stood by the water, her cottage nearby. The wind messed her hair and it was growing cold. She looked as far as she could see across the water. She missed Lily. She wished with all that was in her that they had chosen her. Her eyes stung with tears that would never come. She had cried so much in the last few days that she couldn't do it anymore. Her nose would plug up and her eyes would threaten to shut down but the tears were finished. She missed her friends. She had come to live in her cottage after it had happened so she could get away and sort out her thoughts and feelings. She heard a noise above. She looked up and saw a barn owl swoop down towards her. She held out her arm for him to land. The owl landed on Cas' arm and held out his leg for her to untie a letter addressed to her. He promptly flew off after she had taken the letter. Casalameer unrolled the parchment and immediately recognized the handwriting.

_Dear Casalameer,_

_I realize that this is a tough time especially for you but there is something you need to know. The Secret Keeper has been revealed. It was Sirius. I can't imagine him betraying any of us but it happened. It's astonishing to us all. But there's something else…He was confronted by Peter Pettigrew and Sirius killed him. This is such a shock to us all. Sirius was one of my best friends. One of Peter's best friends. The most shocking thing of all is that he killed thirteen muggles along with Peter. You remember the compassion he always felt for muggles? I guess it was all a lie. I don't know what to think. The Ministry took him away and he's now in Azkaban. Please stay where you are. Things are tense and you need more rest. When you're ready, come back to the Ministry and do what you feel is necessary. As for me…I too need to get away. I just wanted to tell you what happened before you read it in the paper._

_Your friend,_

_Remus J. Lupin_

Stunned, Cas dropped the letter. Sirius Black was the traitor…


	5. A surprise washes up on shore

I am not J.K. Rowling and I do not own the Harry Potter characters or story. 

Chapter five

Twelve years had passed since Lily and James were killed and Sirius Black was taken to Azkaban. Twelve years for Casalameer to get her life back on track and refocus her energy on her work. Voldemort was gone but she often felt a fear she only recognized in the past during the dark years. As an Auror working for the Ministry of Magic, Cas still confronted evil. But lately her assignments were to track down muggle baiters and go on rescue missions on the behalf of people being terrorized by witches and wizards gone bad. Her next job was going to be much more relaxing. She was to be the new Muggle Studies teacher. She needed a rest from the terrifying jobs she'd had in the past. Her last job was to track down a wizard who was rumoured to be a Death Eater of old. She had caught him with the intent to turn him in to be questioned… but he fought back. And HIS intention was to kill her. Cas had no choice but to perform the Cruciatus curse on him. She would never utter the words, "Avada Kedavra" but to torture someone was almost worse in her mind. She took it incredibly to heart since she had known Alice Longbottom quite well in her youth. It had stopped the rogue Death Eater but she never forgot it. She earned the Order of Merlin Second Class for it and she threw it away.

Now, she was back at her cottage. Alone. She had never fallen in love and she had never forgotten Sirius Black no matter what. She walked along the water like she always did and breathed the fresh air. It was a crisp late summer day and the air was getting cooler every day. She heard the waves greet her in every turn and she felt the ground beneath her feet smush with every step. Another sound was interfering. Looking to see where it came from, Casalameer saw a large black shaggy dog wash up on shore. She ran towards it, half meaning to push it back in if it was dead. She didn't want anything dead near her. She was a foot away when it raised its head and panted. Relieved, Cas bent over and pulled the dog out of the water. He was exhausted. He was also very heavy. Buckling under the weight, Cas laid him down on the dry sand. She was panting quite like the dog. Finally remembering she was a witch, Cas took out her wand and floated the poor dog to her cottage where it was warm. She conjured up a cozy little bed for the dog and laid him on it. He immediately fell asleep as if he'd been awake for years.

Later in the evening, Cas felt something cold and wet touch her hand. She looked down and the dog was snuffling around, smelling and nudging her. She bent down and scratched his ears. "Well look who's finally awake!" She said. She waved her wand and a plate of raw steak appeared along with a large bowl of water. "I bet you're hungry, huh pup?" she asked him. He immediately went for the steak, devouring it within minutes. He took a long gulp of the water and looked up at her almost gratefully. "You know, I don't need a pet. I don't want a dog bugging me all the time." She couldn't help smiling. He was so cute. He placed his large head on her knee. "But…" she continued, her resistance failing, "everyone needs a friend." She patted his head and gave him a little kiss. He followed her to her large sofa and hopped on. "No no no! Get down!" He looked at her innocently and snuffed his nose in an almost sneeze. Defeated, Casalameer sat next to him and fussed over his tangled fur. "Yeah go one snuffing at me, silly pup." He looked up at her. "Snuffles." She liked that name. "Mind if I call you Snuffles?" she asked. He panted with contentment. "Snuffles it is!" She hugged him as much as the couch would allow.


	6. Her diary

I do not own the Harry Potter characters or story and I am not J.K. Rowling 

Chapter Six

The next morning, Cas was awakened by the sound of a bird outside her window. She turned and looked with sleepy eyes and noticed that her Daily Prophet had been delivered via owl post. She opened her window and put some money into the owl's pouch and took the paper. She almost dropped it immediately. On the front page was a picture of a menacing looking man whose hard features couldn't mask the carefree boy she knew as Sirius Black. "He's escaped!" she muttered breathlessly. He had escaped from Azkaban, managing to thwart the Dementors who guarded it. Cas couldn't imagine how anyone could escape from there. She often had to go there to deliver prisoners or to further interrogate the Death Eaters within. In fact, her cottage's lake was connected to the waterways which surrounded Azkaban. Once in a blue moon she'd spot a Dementor floating over the water. She shivered at the memory. Cas wasn't afraid of many things but Dementors scared her. They would always hover around her when she was questioning an inmate, just itching to suck her soul out. In her NEWT level of studies at Hogwarts she studied diligently to master the Patronus charm which would keep Dementors away. Her Patronus took the form of an owl, of all things. Funny, because that's the animal she turned into when she transformed. With special permission from the Ministry, Cas was an unregistered Animagus. If she had registered, it would be too easy for the enemy to detect her. She often disguised herself as an owl to deliver mail to suspected Death Eaters. It definitely helped her in her work as an Auror. She often wished that her Patronus would take the form of a lion or something bigger, but she never failed to ward off the Dementors.

Snuffles stood up and sniffed the newspaper. He took it out of her hand and ran away with it. "Hey! I'm not done with that!" Cas yelled after him as he ran a corner into the kitchen. She followed behind him and meant to grab it from him but it was too late. He placed the newspaper into the fireplace where embers continued to burn from the night before. They re-ignited and the flames and swallowed the paper. Snuffles looked up at Casalameer innocently. "Why did you do that, Snuffles?" She asked. What a weird dog. "I wasn't finished reading that." He trotted over to her and jumped up, placing his huge paws on her tummy. "You're just full of mischief, aren't you?" she asked him, not capable of staying angry at such a cute dog. She grabbed his paws and started trying to dance with him playfully. He barked after a while, apparently not a fan of dancing on his hind legs. She let him down. "I need some time to think, Snuffles. Let's go outside." She found her wand on her nightstand and then went outside through the front door, Snuffles bolting out the door before she could even smell the air. He ran around the yard, rolled in the half dead flower garden, chased bumblebees and barked at squirrels. Cas sat in front of the lake on a stone. She watched Snuffles get his hyper kicks for a while and then stared pensively at the water.

She held her wand in front of her. This tool was more than a weapon for her. It was also a diary. She didn't want a pensieve in case the wrong person got a hold of her memories. Her wand was controlled only by her and she knew the one spell (which she had invented) to which she could talk and playback her innermost thoughts. "Dissero privatus" she muttered. Snuffles seemed tired out and came to lie next to her. She didn't mind this as he wouldn't understand any of it anyway. "Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban yesterday. I really don't know what to think…on one hand I'm scared because the Dementors will be everywhere. On the other, I feel so confused. I don't know. I mean, I have a hard enough time believing it was him in the first place. And not because I loved him." Snuffles looked up at her. "When I offered myself as Secret Keeper to James and Lily, they told me they'd never choose me because I'd be an obvious choice and also because I'm Harry's godmother. So it doesn't make sense. Sirius was James' best friend AND Harry's godfather. So why on earth would they choose him over me? He was just as important to them, if not more."

Snuffles came closer to Cas and put his head on her knee. She absently scratched his ears. "But…I still don't understand why he killed Peter. What did he have to do with anything? I heard he'd confronted Sirius but I think that's just a bunch of rubbish. Peter never did anything of the sort. Sure, he may have been angry but he wouldn't dare yell at Sirius. I remember when Sirius called him a sucky follower, Peter sulked for days. Anyone else would have clocked him. No…Sirius wasn't the Secret Keeper. He couldn't have been. If I were Lily and James I would have chosen someone like Peter…" She paused, thinking things over. "What if they did choose Peter? What if Sirius wasn't the one who told and he killed Peter out of anger?" Snuffles began licking Cas' hand. "Subsisto compello" Cas muttered. Her wand stopped recording her words. She turned to Snuffles and patted him on the head. "It's a terrible world sometimes, Snuff" she said and walked him into the cottage.


	7. Back to School

I am not JK Rowling and I do not own the Harry Potter books or characters.

Chapter 7 – Back to School

It was a new day. A day in which Casalameer's life would take a different direction. At the request of Albus Dumbledore she agreed to fill in the newly vacant post of Muggle Studies. Dumbledore stated that he had great faith in her. She had excelled in her Muggle Studies classes and subscribed to their newspapers. Dumbledore requested that she focus on comparisons and specifically assign the students to the Muggle point of view on witchcraft, including Wicca and origins of magic. As an Auror, Muggle liaisons were not a requirement but Casalameer always felt it necessary to immerse herself in their world whenever possible. Her own cottage was somewhat close to a Muggle town and she was friends with many of the townspeople who thought she was something of a hermit. She had put an anti-Muggle charm on her cottage whenever she needed to use her wand but for the most part she was less guarded around them. A downfall, one might think, but Cas always believed in using magic at home only when necessary.

She made her way to Hogwarts by car. She had bought an old clunker from the mechanic in town. She had packed all her clothes, her wand, her books and …her dog. Snuffles kept switching from the front seat to the back, not making up his mind where to sit. "Snuffles, would you sit still and be quiet?" Cas laughed at her bumbling new friend. She handed him an every flavour bean and watched him spit out what looked like a foot flavoured bean. "Not too yummy, huh pup?" She laughed again. After that, Snuffles calmed down and sat in the seat next to her and laid his head on her lap, making it somewhat difficult for her to drive. She spent the next few hours on the road talking to an oblivious Snuffles who was snoozing beside her. She wasn't sure how Dumbledore would feel about her bringing such a large dog into the school but she didn't think it would be much of a problem. Whenever she said the word, "Hogwarts" in front of Snuffles he would get hyped up and start jumping around, barking with glee. She figured maybe he'd thought she was talking about some kind of food but nonetheless, his enthusiasm was contagious. The last few days at the cottage were happy ones. Snuffles often sat next to the door, guarding it. Casalameer felt very loved by this dog to be protected so readily. The only thing that seemed to frighten him were the Dementors who were nearby a lot since the break out of Sirius Black. Whenever she saw one near the lake, Snuffles would run like a bat out of hell to her room and hide under her bed. But he had nothing to worry about since Cas would never let a Dementor onto her property. SHE would be the one to protect Snuffles.

After a very long drive, Casalameer could see the tips of the turrets of Hogwarts. She slowed down. By this time, Snuffles was wide awake and was looking fixedly in the direction of the school. "Look, Snuff! It's Hogwarts!" Snuffles barked loudly and began to jump over the seat to the back and then to the front again. "You're not excited, are ya?" she asked with a smile. It was good to be going to the school with a friend. She'd already thought up a good place for him to sleep, near the fireplace so he could keep warm at night. She had brought many tins of dog food to last until she got around to Hogsmeade. She drove the car a little farther and opened her window to smell the fresh air. Summer was coming to an end and she could almost smell the leaves waiting to fall. When the school was in plain view, Casalameer stopped the car to take in the scenery. It had been many years since she had been there. She turned to Snuffles. "Okay Snuff, this is it. We're going to live there!" He sat there looking at the school and then crawled over onto Cas' lap. She patted him, though dying under the weight of him. "Come on, boy. Get off so I can drive up to the school!" Instead of taking his place in the seat next to her, he all of a sudden put his front paws over the window. "Hey!" Cas almost yelled, "What are you doing? Stay in the car!" But it was too late. Snuffles had jumped out the window. He turned around and looked at her. "Snuffles, get in the car right now!" She opened the door. He snuffed at her and ran in the opposite direction right into the Forbidden Forest. "Snuffles!" She called after him. She began to run after him but he was already gone. He had disappeared into the forest and it had been a while since Cas had been in there. She knew she'd forget her way and possibly run into worse dangers than Dementors. Dejected, Cas returned to her car and noticed several dark figures gathered around the school entrance. "Dementors," she murmured. "No wonder he ran."

Authors note- Thanks to all who have reviewed, though few you are. I work a lot so it's hard to update as much as I'd like. Take care all of you! And by the way, Cas IS Harry's godmother, to the one who asked why she wasn't. Harry just doesn't know it.


	8. A new life

After finding a place to park her car, which wasn't easy since Hogwarts doesn't have a parking lot, Casalameer headed towards the front doors. She had seen the Dementors outside the gate and proceeded with caution. They had investigated her and her car with ferocity and she drew them away with the Patronus spell, though they hovered still, not fully leaving. The doors to Hogwarts opened by themselves and Cas walked through, wondering how much the castle had changed over the years. Apparently not a bit because the first thing she saw was the poltergeist, Peeves taking the heads off of the suits of armour and switching them with chamber pots.

"Peeves, still up to no good, huh?" She asked.

"Ooooh a new professor! I must mind my Ps and Qs from now on!" Peeves said in a wicked voice. He floated up close to her and blew a raspberry right in her face.

"That's enough, Peeves" A voice said. Cas turned around. The face was familiar but the lines in his face almost obscured him from memory.

"Remus?" Cas exclaimed.

"Remus? Ream us? Who wants to ream us?" Peeves cackled and promptly zoomed out of the room, not before knocking over one of the chamber pots, which grossly enough, was full.

"I wondered when you'd get here." Remus Lupin said, walking over to Cas, and hugging her once he was close enough. "I'd heard from Professor Dumbledore that you'd be teaching with us."

Cas was confused and delighted all at once. "You're a teacher here too?" she asked, happy to have a friend with her.

"Yes. Dumbledore asked me to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts this year…Good man, he is. It's been hard finding a job, since Wolfare never got off the ground. That abominable ministry shut us down claiming we were banding together to hunt."

"That's ridiculous. Well you'll be a fine teacher, that's for sure. All E's in NEWT level." Cas said, smiling.

"Look who's talking, Ms Auror! I'd heard you earned an Order of Merlin Second Class!"

"Don't remind me." Cas replied. "But listen, I need to find out where I'm staying and such. I just walked in the door." She heard footsteps from the right. Albus Dumbledore stood beneath an archway to the great hall.

"Ahhh…we were wondering about you. I saw your vehicle from the window a while ago." He said.

"Well my dog ran off just when I got towards the gates. Stupid dog…He's been excited about this trip for days and when he gets here he heads for the Forbidden Forest. Dogs, I tell you." Cas shook her head, sad that her pet was gone. "Maybe he'll come back."

Dumbledore smiled, slightly concerned. "Yes…I'm sure he'll turn up again before the school year is over. In the meantime, why don't I show you to your quarters? Locomotor trunks!" And with that, he led Casalameer and her bags to her new room for the school year.

It had been a long week for Casalameer. The sorting feast had come and gone and Cas had her first glimpse at Harry Potter in twelve years. God, he looked like James. Lily's eyes, though. She couldn't help but watch him more closely than the other students. It was like seeing her friends all over again. Cas missed Lily. Gone were the days when she had a girl friend to giggle with. "Hell, I don't even have a dog anymore," she thought to herself. She also had her first encounter with Severus Snape. She always remembered the skinny Slytherin boy who was suspended upside down by the lake. He said nothing to her and pretended she wasn't there.

Her first class was with the fifth years. Only three of them were muggle born. Although they had had a few years worth of Muggle Studies, the students as a whole still had a lot to learn. Cas had led them into a safer part of the Forbidden Forest (according to Hagrid, which did not make the students feel any safer) and taught them some of the incantations and chants that many muggles who tried to be witches recited in the olden days.

Afterwards, she had her third years in and demonstrated the differences and similarities between the magical world and the muggle world and the muggles' perspective on witchcraft. "What is significant of Wicca?" she asked the class.

A bushy haired girl with slightly large teeth raised her hand at once. "Miss Granger?" Cas asked politely.

"Wicca is practiced as a religion AND a way of life for muggles whereas our community merely uses it as a way of life."

"Very good. Five points to Gryffindor!"

It looked as though teaching wasn't going to be so bad.


End file.
